Name of crash victim released, shooting at Fort Belknap under investigation

In the midst of an investigation of a fatal crash and a shooting on New Year’s Day on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, Blaine county officials have released the name of the crash victim.

Blaine County Undersheriff and Deputy Coroner Chris Adair said Leah Fox, 30, died from the injuries sustained in the ATV crash Jan. 1.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and tribal police are investigating a shooting the same morning which injured two people at a residence in Lodge Pole on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, FBI Public Affairs Specialist Sandra Barker said.

A notice posted on the Fort Belknap Indian Community Facebook page said Fort Belknap police responded to the ATV crash on Rodeo Drive on Fort Belknap which occurred at about at 3:26 a.m.

Montana Highway Patrol reports a 22-year-old man was driving an Arca ATV and turned right from Coming Day Street onto Rodeo Drive at a high rate of speed when the ATV hit a patch of ice and he lost control

The driver overcorrected, oversteered and rolled the ATV on Rodeo Drive before it came to rest.

Both the man. whose name has not been released, and Fox were thrown from the ATV. The man sustained minor injuries and the female passenger hit her head on the pavement, causing a head injury that led to her death.

The notice said that while processing the crash scene, Fort Belknap Police were dispatched to a report of a shooting at about 6:18 a.m. to Chief Nosey Village Housing area in Lodge Pole.

A man had discharged a firearm at a residence and wounded two people who were in the residence, the release said.

Both victims were treated at the Fort Belknap Indian Health Services emergency room with non-life-threatening injuries.

The man accused of the shooting was later stopped by Fort Belknap Police and was placed under arrest with no further incident.

The crash and the shooting are still under investigation and the names of the people involved cannot be released at this time, Fort Belknap Indian Community Acting Chief Administrative Officer Delina Cuts the Rope said. The FBI is leading the investigation in both cases.